Coyote golf teams look to finish seasons strong

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As the spring season nears its finish, the USD golf teams hope to make a late season comeback at the Summit League Championships.

After a subpar spring season, both the men and women’s teams want to show their strengths when it matters most.

The Coyote men’s team traveled south to Jonesboro, A.R. to compete in the Arkansas State Red Wolves Intercollegiate last week. The Coyotes placed ninth out of 15 competing teams.

The Coyotes’ final scores for the 54-hole tournament came from senior Jordan Rykal (+4), junior Grant Campbell (+13), sophomore Matthew Swanson (+15) and senior Miles Death (+15). The highlight for USD came from Jordan Rykal, who finished in a tie for tenth after battling back from 27th place after his first round.

“Short game and putting really started to click for me the more time I got out on the course,” Rykal said.

Rykal was named Summit League Player of the Week after this performance.

In preparation for the Summit League Championship in May, the Coyote men will play in their final tournament at the Oral Roberts Shootout in Tulsa, O.K. The tournament will give the Coyotes a look at the teams they’ll be facing in the Summit League Championship.

“As long as everyone can start to see that they are starting to score lower and getting more comfortable… we will start trending in the right direction,” Rykal said.

The men will have three weeks to prepare for the Summit League Championship after the Oral Roberts Shootout.

The USD women’s team has experienced similar results as the men’s team.

This spring the Coyote women have competed in four tournaments. They did their best at the South Dakota Spring Invite, where they finished second of three teams. With the Summit League Championships nearing, the Coyotes hope their final tournament will help push them to the next level.

“The tournament will be a confidence builder to make sure were playing the way we should, (we will) look at it as a test run to make sure were going into the SLC to play our best golf,” said junior Brenna Lervick.

Although they haven’t had the success this season they hoped for, Brenna Lervick has been a shining star on the women’s team. Lervick has only placed outside of the top 10 once in the 2015-16 season, with seven top five finishes and three runner-up finishes. Lervick was named Summit League Player of the Week last week after her second second place finish in a row.

“Obviously I want to go out and win everything I can, but when it comes to tee off it not even on my mind,” Lervick said. “It’s about going out there and knowing that I have to put up the best score for my team.”

Lervick said she hopes to continue her success in the Summit League Championship.

The Coyote women’s team will play their final rounds of the season at the Arborlinks golf course in Nebraska City, N.E. April 18 through the 20.

The men will compete to defend their Summit League title May 1 through the 3 in Newton, K.S. at the Sand Creek Station golf course.

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Austin Klinghagen is a junior Sport Management at the University of South Dakota. He is a member of Beta Theta Pi and also involved in Sport Management Alliance. Austin also enjoys his time working and playing intramurals at the Wellness Center. Austin is from Katy, Tx.